Alabama Theatre

Interior of the Alabama Theatre in 1996. Photograph by Jack Boucher (HABS)

The Alabama Theatre, is a 2,200 seat "movie palace" opened by Paramount Studios in 1927 at 1817 3rd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham's "Theater District". Originally constructed to show silent films, the Alabama features a Wurlitzer theatre organ. Now painstakingly restored, the Alabama is operated by Birmingham Landmarks, a non-profit corporation headed by organist Cecil Whitmire. The Alabama hosts numerous live concerts and classic movie screenings, as well as weddings and private events throughout the year.

History

The Alabama was built by Paramount Studio's Publix Theater division as an opulent "movie palace" for screening silent films. It is one of two extant theaters, along with Knoxville's Tennessee Theatre (1928), known to have been designed by the Chicago architecture firm of Graven and Mayger. Construction plans for the Alabama were announced in 1926, but ground breaking was delayed until April 1, 1927. The grand opening was held as originally scheduled on December 26, 1927 with the feature The Spotlight, starring Esther Rawlson and Neil Hamilton, as the main attraction. Paramount President Adolph Zukor proclaimed it "The Showplace of the South", an appellation that appears in gilt letters under the marquee.

Big Bertha

In order to provide music and sound effects for silent films, the Alabama was outfitted with a 20-rank Crawford Special-Publix One Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ from the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, New York. Dubbed "Big Bertha", or simply "The Mighty Wurlitzer", it is one of 25 of its type ever built, and one of only three still installed in their original sites. The organ console is mounted on a hydraulic lift that can bring it up to stage level or lower it out of sight through a trap door. Since its debut, Big Bertha has been expanded to 28 ranks and has seen the addition of multiple percussive and other mechanical effects. For many years the organ was played by Stanleigh Malotte.

Mickey Mouse Club

One of the things the Alabama was known for in its early days was its Mickey Mouse Club, which was formed in 1933. Meetings were held every Saturday, where the children would perform for each other, watch Mickey Mouse cartoons, and participate in other activities. The Club also sponsored food and toy drives for the underprivileged. By 1935, the Club had over 7,000 members, making it the biggest Mickey Mouse Club in the world. Membership eventually peaked at over 18,000 before the Club closed almost ten years after it was formed.

Loveman's fire

In 1934, the Loveman's department store next door burned to the ground. Thanks to a thick firewall on that side of the Alabama, the theatre was unharmed aside from some smoke damage around air vents in the auditorium. (These smoke stains would remain until the 1998 theatre restoration.)

Miss Alabama Pageant

Another regular event at the Alabama was the Miss Alabama Pageant. From 1935 to 1948, the rules of the Miss America Pageant allowed multiple contestants per state. The Alabama Theatre hosted the Miss Birmingham Pageant in those years. When the rules were changed in 1949, the Alabama became host to the Miss Alabama Pageant and continued to do so through 1966.

Decline and Re-opening

The decline of downtown Birmingham through the 1960's and 1970's saw the closing of most of the downtown's movie theatres. In 1981, Plitt Theatres of Chicago closed the Alabama and sold it to Cobb Theatres of Birmingham. Cobb attempted to reopen the Alabama several times, but was unsuccessful. Cobb eventually sold the Alabama to Costa and Head, developers working to revitalize the downtown area. Costa and Head initiated series of classic movies at the Alabama with some success, but ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 1986.

The Alabama Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS) had been maintaining the Alabama's organ since in the 1970's. They sought permission to remove the organ from the Alabama to save it, but Costa and Head's creditors deemed it the single most valuable item in the building and forbid its removal. In response the Alabama Chapter of ATOS began a fund-raising effort to buy the Alabama. The effort was successful and in 1987 Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. was formed to buy and manage the Alabama. With the purchase, the theatre was renamed the Alabama Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Landmark status

In 1979, the Alabama Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1] In 1993 the Alabama was designated the "official state historic theatre" by the Alabama legislature. [2] In 1998, the Alabama underwent a complete cleaning and restoration including the seating, carpet and drapes. New York's Evergreene Studios restored the plaster finishes, stenciling and gilding as part of the $1.5 million project.

Birmingham Landmarks continues to operate the Alabama today. In addition, the Lyric Theatre, a 1914 vaudeville theatre located across the street from the Alabama, was donated to them in 1993.

Trivia

• The Alabama Theatre was the first public building in Alabama to have air-conditioning. (Whitmire & Hanks 2002).
• The Alabama had 2,500 sites when it first opened in 1927. Later renovations replaced the seats on the main floor with larger ones, reducing the seat count to 2,200. (Source: Showplace of the South flyer, Birmingham Landmarks, 1991)
• The Alabama movie screen is the largest in the state, measuring 22 feet high by 40 feet wide. (Source: 1997 Classic Summer Film Series schedule, Birmingham Landmarks, 1997)
• For many years, the street address of the Alabama was mistakenly thought by the owners to be 1811 3rd Ave. N. Around 1991, Birmingham Landmarks discovered the error and corrected it to 1817.

References

• "Alabama Theatre." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Apr 2006, 13:54 UTC. 27 Apr 2006, 14:22 [3].
• Whitmire, Cecil and Jeannie Hanks. (2002) The Alabama Theatre: Showplace of the South, Birmingham Landmarks. ISBN 0310975124

External links

• Alabama Theatre website
• Alabama Theatre photographs and clippings at the Birmingham Public Library archives.
• Alabama Theatre photographs and drawings at the Historic American Buildings Survey.

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